On November 16th 2010, some of the FCBE’s key external partners came together in the Fogelman Executive Center. In addition to attending a reception at which we were able to thank them for their previous help with, and commitment to, our College, they also participated in an idea generation session. Situated at round tables in small groups, those who took part were asked to come up with ideas that would propel the College through its next phase of development. Two major themes emerged from this session facilitated by the Chair of the FCBE’s Advisory Board, Larry Papasan. First, there was a lot of consensus around developing a new Professional Development Center that would help cater for the pastoral side of student development. Included in the center would be everything from student advising to internship placement to career counseling. The second suggestion to emerge concerned enhancing the FCBE’s brand. In a 21st century setting with 24 hour a day access to information across a broad range of media devices, it was felt that we could promote the College in more, and more innovative, ways. This in turn would help enhance the reputation of the College and position it to continue to move forward as a leading urban College of Business & Economics. These two initiatives will be major foci of our plans for development in the immediate future. They are joined by a third major development idea that emerged from the regular coffee hours that I have with our faculty. This concerns the need to improve the infrastructure of the building in which we operate. In addition to HVAC work, there is also a need to renovate several of our classrooms. Further, we are also embarking on a project to make the building more sustainable. You will be hearing more about these three initiatives in the weeks ahead as we push on to make the FCBE an ever more desirable place for students, potential employers, faculty and staff to fulfill their ambitions.

On November 16th the FCBE hosted an idea development session with members of the local business community who had agreed to take a hand in crafting the future of the College. All of those who attended had taken part in previous initiatives that have contributed to the ongoing development of the College, so they were well positioned to speak to what the College should be striving to achieve as it moves forward. The event was facilitated by the Chair of the FCBE’s Advisory Board, Larry Papasan, who started the event by reviewing recent accomplishments at the graduate student level that have seen new MBA programs, redesigned MBA curricula, a format change to the EMBA, the creation of a ‘Lunch & Learn’ speaker series, and a developing focus on sustainability. He then moved on to recapture the undergraduate changes that included the development of the 4Cs Program, the Etiquette Program, Fogelman Fit, Professionalism First!, a Code of Professionalism, Toastmasters Program, Fogelman Promise Day, and a rejuvenated Honors Program.

Dr. Julia Heath, Professor of Economics, has been named the 2010 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Tennessee Professor of the Year. This award is given jointly from the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She is one of 46 state winners, chosen from more than 300 outstanding professors throughout the United States.

Dr. Heath, the other state winners, and four national winners, one each for the categories of baccalaureate colleges, community colleges, doctoral and research universities, and master’s universities and colleges, were honored at a luncheon in Washington, D.C., in November, followed by a Congressional reception. “This is beyond amazing,” Dr. Heath said. “This award is only given once every two years and is sponsored by one of the most respected organizations associated with education, so to be recognized with such a prestigious award is very humbling. I can’t imagine doing anything other than teaching, and to have my work in that profession recognized and validated in such a way is very gratifying.”

Over February 20-22, 2011, the Fogelman College of Business & Economics hosted an accreditation visit by a Peer Review Team representing the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – International (AACSB), the premier accrediting agency for business schools. The College was up for its five-year Maintenance of Accreditation Review for both business and accounting accreditation. Peer Review Team members were Dean H. Fenwick Huss, Georgia State University (Team Chair); Dr. Mary Stone, University of Alabama (Accounting Chair); Dean Robert Scherer, Cleveland State University (Business Member); and Dr. Gerald Lobo, University of Houston, (Accounting Member).

During the Peer Review Team’s intensive campus visit, members met with many groups of faculty, including some key College committees, faculty leaders of various academic programs and initiatives, and President Shirley Raines and Provost Ralph Faudree. In addition, the team met with many College alumni and friends at a reception at the home of U of M alums, George and Betty Johnson.

The Conference On Sustainable Real Estate will be held at the University of Memphis campus on March 24, 25, 26, 2011.

The theme of the first conference is "Memphis: Global Hub City." In the course of the conference attendees will learn about opportunities for Western Tennessee, and obligations that must be met to achieve those opportunities. The main question that will be addressed at the conference is, “How does Sustainable Real Estate practice benefit investors, developers, the economy, and provide jobs?”

For example, we now know that high carbon emissions can change local, national, and global geographic weather patterns. Energy prices are volatile. Both increase risk of investment and risk for sustaining life itself as we know it. Contrary to most thinking, automobiles are not the culprit responsible for the highest energy consumption and greatest carbon emissions. Instead, the single largest consumer of energy and producer of carbon emissions are buildings. Thus, sustainable real estate must include construction and architecture standards that directly and indirectly reduce carbon emissions and energy needs.

The Fogelman College of Business and Economics’ MBA programs have experienced several changes over the last year. In addition to the launching of an integrated Graduate Programs Office that centralizes and rationalizes the operating processes for all its MBA programs, faculty and staff have built upon recent curriculum changes with alterations to program formats and new degree offerings.

Our flagship Executive MBA program, which is celebrating its 30th intake this year, has been the focus of structural changes that include the elimination of Friday classes and the offering of some courses on-line, moves intended to open up the program to those who have to work five days a week. We have also made the program more intensive and compact with a reduction in program length from 21 months to 17 months, which brings us more in line with our competitors. Marketing efforts have been renewed with additional emphasis on recruiting executives from family businesses and the health care sector.

Between August 1 and December 31 2010, the Alumni Board of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics matched new donations by those who had not donated previously to the College, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000. Upon hearing of the match, long-time FCBE benefactor Avron Fogelman offered to also match donations in the same way. Thus, every dollar donated effectively leveraged an additional two dollars.

The impact of the Challenge was significant. There were 253 new donors, 229 of which were alumni, that initially raised: $65,489. The Alumni Board and Fogelman matches raised an additional $50,000, resulting in a campaign total of $115,489.

Alumni Board President Jennifer Brereton stated, “The challenge gift will keep up the College’s momentum, and make supporting the College fun, while improving the Fogelman experience for current students as well as students in the future.”

The Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, home to the FCBE’s Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management, has earned the InterContinental Hotels Group Torchbearer Award for the seventh consecutive year. This award confirms the hotel as one of the best Holiday Inns in the worldwide chain, based on it achieving the highest levels of excellence in all aspects of operation and customer satisfaction. In 2003, the hotel was also awarded the Newcomer of the year Award.

The Torchbearer Awards were presented in October 20, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV at a special ceremony during the InterContinental Hotels Group Americas Investor and Leadership Conference at which there were over 4,000 owners, operators and corporate executives.

Let’s face facts: Memphis is not the strongest market in Tennessee, but can and should be stronger. For some time now and at least for 2011, Nashville and Knoxville will continue to dominate Tennessee in economic activity. Although the Great Recession ended in August 2009, Memphis still suffers from the job losses and high unemployment caused by this event. Throughout most of 2010, the unemployment rate in the Memphis MSA remained at or above 10.0 percent. Unfortunately, Memphis is also hindered by the fact that rural counties with high unemployment rates and depressed agricultural economies surround it. From 1999 to 2009, both Tennessee and Memphis have had little or no net job growth. In the Memphis MSA, only two sectors reported positive job growth between December 2009 and December 2010: government (0.3 percent) and educational and health services (1.0 percent). Can the state or Memphis prosper without job growth? Certainly not.

However, there is good news. From January to September, Tennessee gained 145,000 jobs. During the same time, Memphis gained 22,000 jobs (during the 1990s, Memphis only gained an average of 10,000 jobs a year). Labor market fluctuations during and following a recession are primarily cyclical and usually fix themselves. But, Memphis still has structural issues that remain prevalent.

Dean Rajiv Grover recently announced that B. Lane Carrick has agreed to join the FCBE as its new Executive in Residence. Lane founded Sovereign Wealth Management, Inc. in 1998 and served as its Chairman and CEO through its acquisition by United Capital in 2010, with which he is now Managing Director. With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Lane leads United Capital's acquisition efforts in the Southeastern U.S. His work has been featured in various publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Memphis Business Journal, Business Week, and Investment News, as well as broadcast outlets including CNBC and National Public Radio.

Lane also serves as Chairman of the Board for Triumph Bancshares, Inc. and Triumph Bank, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Quality Concrete Products, Inc. He serves as a member of the Boards of Trustees and Treasurer of Methodist Health System Foundation, as a Trustee of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, and as a member of the Community Advisory Board of the Junior League of Memphis.

Marla Stafford, Chair of the Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management has been awarded a First Tennessee Professorship, one of the University of Memphis’ leading scholarly awards. The First Tennessee Professorships were established early in 2005 as part of a partnership between the First Tennessee Foundation and the U of M to help the University recruit and retain outstanding faculty and to support economic and financial literacy programs. Marla is just concluding her term as the Editor of the Journal of Advertising, which is a highly respected scholarly journal. She continues to serve on a number of editorial review boards and actively represents the institution at major conferences. She continues to publish even under her current heavy workload as department chair and editor, and has consistently been seen as one of the most inspiring teachers in the College.

We develop an integrated/hybrid optimization model for configuring new products’ supply chains while explicitly considering the impact of demand dynamics during new products’ diffusion. The hybrid model simultaneously determines optimal production/sales plan and supply chain configuration. The production and sales plan provides decisions on the optimal timing to launch a new product, as well as the production and sales quantity in each planning period. The supply chain configuration provides optimal selection of options and safety stock level kept at each supply chain function.